{"id":263480,"date":"2026-06-03T18:34:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T22:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/03\/maine-gubernatorial-candidates-outline-stances-on-ai-data-centers\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T19:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T23:15:16","slug":"maine-gubernatorial-candidates-outline-stances-on-ai-data-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/03\/maine-gubernatorial-candidates-outline-stances-on-ai-data-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"Maine gubernatorial candidates outline stances on AI data centers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maine gubernatorial candidates outline stances on AI data centers<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/wgme.com\/news\/beyond-the-podium\/maine-gubernatorial-candidates-outline-stances-on-ai-data-centers-republican-democrat-governor-economy-environment-education<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-06-03 18:34:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: wgme.com<\/a><\/p>\n

PORTLAND (WGME) — Some of the candidates to be Maine\u2019s next governor released plans Wednesday for how to handle artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

Some want to make sure data centers don’t threaten jobs in Maine or harvest and sell personal information.<\/p>\n

Others believe data centers, like the $550 million one proposed for Jay, are coming whether Maine likes it or not, and the state should embrace any economic benefits that would come with them.<\/p>\n

“We have to control AI,” Maine teacher Todd Cretian said. “We cannot let it take over our education system.”<\/p>\n

Maine teachers, nurses and labor groups are all sounding the alarm when it comes to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

“It can be a force for good,” Arthur Phillips of Maine AFL-CIO said. “But it also poses enormous threats.”<\/p>\n

Candidates for governor are also weighing in.<\/p>\n

“Technology should serve people,\u201d Democratic gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson said. \u201cNot rule them. Maine should not be a testing ground for Silicon Valley’s worst ideas.”<\/p>\n

Democratic candidate for governor Troy Jackson (WGME)<\/p>\n

Jackson and fellow Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Nirav Shah unveiled plans Wednesday to establish safeguards for AI.<\/p>\n

“Data centers cannot come into Maine and leave working people behind,” Jackson said.<\/p>\n

“Any technology that ends up costing more than it adds is not something that’s a net benefit for Maine,\u201d Shah said. \u201cAnd so as governor, what I want to do is embrace the use of AI in state government but not in a manner as to replace jobs for people.”<\/p>\n

\"Maine<\/p>\n

Maine Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Nirav Shah (WGME)<\/p>\n

Governor Janet Mills vetoed a statewide moratorium on AI data centers, paving the way for a data center at the now closed paper mill in Jay.<\/p>\n

Four Democratic candidates say they would have supported the moratorium.<\/p>\n

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Angus King III says he would have vetoed it like the governor.<\/p>\n

\"Democratic<\/p>\n

Democratic candidate for governor Angus King III (WGME)<\/p>\n

“I don’t think we need 18 months,\u201d King said. \u201cBut I also am not…<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maine gubernatorial candidates outline stances on AI data centers https:\/\/wgme.com\/news\/beyond-the-podium\/maine-gubernatorial-candidates-outline-stances-on-ai-data-centers-republican-democrat-governor-economy-environment-education Publish Date: 2026-06-03 18:34:00 Source…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":263481,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wgme.com\/resources\/media2\/16x9\/1280\/1320\/center\/90\/c4f2c0eb-9b0a-4ce4-b571-9e34bc4534a9-pols1.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-263480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artificial-intelligence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263480"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263480"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":263482,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263480\/revisions\/263482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}